Match Report: Weymouth 3-1 St Neots Town | 10th February 2018

Weymouth leave it late to beat 10-man Saints

JORDAN Ngalo hit his first goal for the Terras as they struck twice late on to secure a hard-fought 3-1 win against 10-man St Neots in their Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division match at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

Brandon Goodship opened the scoring with a penalty in the 33rd minute, after’ Saints captain Luke Knight was dismissed, before the away side levelled in the 71st minute prior to Stephane Zubar and Ngalo strikes in the 85th and 93rd minute respectively.

The Terras made two changes to the side that beat Merthyr Town 3-0 last time out as Josh Wakefield and Ben Thomson came in for Josh Carmichael and Abdulai Baggie, whose first child was born on Sunday.

Mark Cooper made the bench for the first time since the 1-0 defeat to Larkhall in the BigFreeBet.com Challenge Cup as he looked to return from injury.

The match started evenly with Thomson proving effective for Weymouth while Nabil Shariff carried a threat for the away side.

In the seventh minute Goodship passed the ball from near the centre of the pitch to Thomson who managed to run into the box only to see Jack Bradshaw shield the ball out for a goal-kick.

An incisive counter from Weymouth in the tenth minute saw Charlie Davis clear the ball to Harry Baker who again found Thomson who raced into the St Neots’ box but his ball across the box was easily cleared by Liam McDevitt.

Weymouth the constructed a flowing move in the 26th minute that resulted in Callum Buckley passing down the left-hand side along to Goodship, whose shot rolled wide.

What had been a relatively quiet match erupted into life in the 34th minute as Goodship took a shot from 30 yards out that went wide via a slight deflection.

From the corner Weymouth were fiercely attacking the goal line and the pressure paid off when Knight was sent off for a handball on the line. Goodship then confidently tucked the penalty away to hand the Terras the lead.

This sparked Weymouth into life with another great chance four minutes later.

Thomson again made a great run down the left-hand side and this time his ball across the box was struck well but it could not find another team-mate.

In the 41st minute Goodship brought a good save from Finlay Iron in the Saints’ goal with a shot from six yards out and from the corner a lofted flick from Zubar went behind for a goal-kick.

The Terras were on top but the Saints still embarked on forays forward despite their numerical disadvantage, with the best being a move down the left that saw Shariff set up Tom Wood on the edge of the box but his shot went over Will Dennis’ bar.

The second half began with Weymouth threatening on the attack with Goodship and Baker in particular working well to craft a couple of early chances.

Firstly, a cutback from Goodship found Baker but his shot was blocked by the Saints’ defence and Wakefield curled over soon after.

The strike duo connected well again when Goodship threaded a ball to Baker but his shot veered away from goal.

Tempers were beginning to flare and Thomson received a yellow card for a late tackle on Kyron Wiltshire who moments before had a coming together with Brooks that had seen both men go down.

The feisty nature of the match costed Weymouth as, from a free-kick 35 yards out, Bradshaw fired the ball around the wall into the bottom corner.

Weymouth tried to hit back immediately but Brooks had his attempt to break into the box halted by Dylan Williams.

In the 77th minute Thomson took a shot inside the box on the turn that brought a great save from Iron but the Terras deservedly took the lead again in the 84th minute.

A free-kick into the box found Thomson, who headed the ball across the box before a flick from McCarthy towards goal saw Zubar get the final touch with his head to spark deafening roars from the home crowd.

And, with the last action of the game, Ngalo fired into the top corner after a patient build-up to seal all three points.

Weymouth are next in action on Saturday where they face Royston Town at the Bob Lucas Stadium.